Twelve-year-old Beatrice Miller copes with the ups and downs of friendships, puberty, and identity, guided by the wisdom and love of her beloved Mamaw and mom, the summer before seventh grade.. - (Baker & Taylor)
The co-author of Watch Us Rise pens a novel in verse about all the good and bad that comes with middle school, growing up girl, and the strength of family that gets you through it.
Beatrice Miller may have a granny's name (her granny's, to be more specific), but she adores her Mamaw and her mom, who give her every bit of wisdom and love they have. But the summer before seventh grade, Bea wants more than she has, aches for what she can't have, and wonders what the future will bring.
This novel in verse follows Beatrice through the ups and downs of friendships, puberty, and identity as she asks: Who am I? Who will I become? And will my outside ever match the way I feel on the inside?
A gorgeous, inter-generational story of Southern women and a girl's path blossoming into her sense of self, Reckless, Glorious, Girl explores the important questions we all ask as we race toward growing up.
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McMillan Palgrave)
Ellen Hagan is a writer, performer, and educator. She is the co-author with Renée Watson of Watch Us Rise. Her poetry collections include Blooming Fiascoes, Hemisphere, and Crowned. Her work can be found in ESPN Magazine, She Walks in Beauty, and Southern Sin. Ellen is the Director of the Poetry & Theatre Departments at the DreamYard Project and directs their International Poetry Exchange Program with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. She co-leads the Alice Hoffman Young Writer's Retreat at Adelphi University. Raised in Kentucky, she now lives in New York City with her family.
www.ellenhagan.com
- (
McMillan Palgrave)
Booklist Reviews
It's the summer before seventh grade, and 12-year-old Beatrice Miller lives with her mom and mamaw in Bardstown, Kentucky. She's conflicted about entering her teen years, anxious for them to begin, yet fearful of leaving childhood behind. She's also often caught in the middle between her mother (a responsible nurse who is ambitious for her daughter) and Mamaw (her free-spirited, eccentric grandmother who wants Bea to enjoy the present). With the narrative told in free verse, Hagan's strength is developing characters and their motivations. Bea is particularly well fleshed out, with many poems dedicated to her inner musings about her feelings and place in the world. While the episodic plot meanders a bit (Mom considers a serious boyfriend; Mamaw thinks about getting her own place; Bea contemplates her relationship with her deceased father, learns that slumber party dares can be dangerous, and discovers that joining the in-crowd comes with drawbacks), Hagan's keen understanding of adolescent preoccupations will be enough to hook many. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.